Lourdes Grottos in Illinois, Belleville Diocese

I have found 13 Lourdes grottos that have existed in the modern Diocese of Belleville, Illinois. Details are given below, in order of year constructed (when known).

Convent Sisters of the Most Precious Blood, Ruma (1892, extant)

The earliest Lourdes grotto I found within the Belleville Diocese was the one at the Convent of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood in Ruma, Illinois. I was told by the Adorers director of communications that the grotto at their Ruma location was constructed in 1892

A 1938 article in The Messenger about the history of the Ruma convent stated:

The convent surroundings in their rustic setting became even beautiful, assuming a simple loveliness and repose. Adjoining the convent was a grove where the Sisters spent their recreation hours in the midst of the serene beauties of nature. Thither the Sisters repaired in procession, just as they do today, to visit the grotto of our Lady of Lourdes, which had been erected over a natural spring.

The Messenger, January 1, 1938

The director also mentioned that the grotto “was later rebuilt in the early 1990s using stone from another grotto built in the early 1900s.”

The convent closed in 2022 and the remaining Sisters moved to a Benedictine facility located at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville. But the grotto still remains on the Ruma property, the future purpose of which has not yet been determined.

Notre Dame Convent/Immaculate Conception Academy, Belleville (1897, not extant)

An 1897 news article stated that a Lourdes grotto was built at the Notre Dame Convent, west of the Cathedral of St. Peter, at Harrison and 3rd Streets in downtown Belleville, site of the Immaculate Conception Academy (est. 1959).

As noted in the above article, a terrible fire had destroyed the earlier Immaculate Conception school building in 1884, claiming the lives of 22 students and four sisters. The surviving sisters rebuilt the school, and the grotto was built in their memory.

The school moved in 1925 to new location and was renamed Academy of Notre Dame, where another Lourdes grotto was built (see below). It’s unclear when this grotto or the convent at this location was removed.

St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Carlyle (1900, not extant)

According to a history of St. Mary’s Church in Carlyle (established in 1853), “Parishioners had the Grotto of Lourdes erected north of the church on the occasion of Fr. Demming’s 25 years as pastor at St. Mary’s. It was built by William Demming, Father’s brother. Very Rev. W. Cluse, Vicar General, blessed the grotto on Dec. 6, 1900.”

A 1934 article in The Messenger stated that “you should not forget to visit the grotto of the Blessed Virgin of Lourdes, located between the church and the school building.” And another article in the same paper in 1937 (July 2) mentioned that ” In the rear of the parish church there is a Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes built more than 40 years ago, but remodeled a few years ago.”

Google Street shows that the grotto is no longer behind the church.

St. Vincent’s Hospital, Belleville (c.1905, not extant)

St. Vincent Hospital and Old Folks’ Home, built in 1902-04, included a lovely Lourdes grotto on its well-landscaped grounds. A 1914 article in The Messenger stated: “There is a large lawn about the place and a garden, and in the midst of this a beautiful Lourdes Grotto, ideally adapted to kneel or sit down before to recite a lonely prayer to the Queen of Heaven.”

And a 1939 article in the same paper described it thus: “The beautiful grounds surrounding the hospital have been maintained as a park. Artistic flower beds, trees and walks make this an inviting place for the convalescent patients. The grotto of Lourdes on the hospital grounds is a favorite spot where prayers are often offered by invalids and convalescents.”

The hospital was razed in the 1950s in order to build St. Elizabeth’s hospital, which is now closed.

St. Teresa’s Academy, East St. Louis, IL (1915, not extant)

The Sisters of the Most Precious Blood, with Motherhouse in Ruma, Illinois, established St. Teresa’s Academy in East St. Louis, Illinois in 1894.

A 1974 history of the Academy stated:

The Mother of God was always present in the family life of St. Teresa Academy. The Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary was established in 1907. The Sodality way of life, regular instruction and meaningful reception of the sacraments were background and accompaniment of school work. An annual pre-Easter retreat was a sacred
and solemn tradition.

The statue of Our Lady which, in later years, would be placed at the corner of 25th and Ridge, was acquired in 1915 and placed in a grotto in the yard at 26th and Ridge, where the science building would later stand.

Alma Mater S.T.A. 1894-1974
A chronicle of St. Teresa Academy, East St. Louis, Illinois
Sister Mary Pauline Grady, A.S.C

A 1915 newspaper article confirms the year of construction:

GROTTO ON ST. TERESA’S ACADEMY GROUNDS BLESSED A grotto to Our Lady of Lourdes, on the grounds of St. Teresa’s Academy, East St. Louis, was blessed yesterday afternoon by Rev. Father Peter Engel, pastor of St. Elizabeth’s Church. The faculty of the academy, sisters of the Precious Blood Order and its seventy-five students, walked in procession from the chapel, where the services began with the singing of the litany, to the grounds, near the grotto, where they’ stood in semicircle while le. Father Engel told of the original grotto in Lourdes and of the life of Blessed Bernadette, the child whose prayers began the devotion. The grotto was erected after several months’ work, led by Sister Charlotte, a member of the faculty. Mother Anna, the superior of the convent, and Sister Salome, the head of the faculty, were present.

St. Louis Globe-Democrat, May 1, 1915

The grotto at St. Teresa’s Academy only existed for 15 years; the school history stated that “The schoolyard fence went down in September 1930…. It was at this time that the grotto at 26th and Ridge was removed and the statue of Our Lady brought indoors to grace the hall of the 1894 building.” And that was not the last move for the statue: “In December of 1954, the Marian year, St. Teresa’s restored the treasured statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which had once stood in the Lourdes grotto near 26th Street, and in later years in the main hall, to a place of honor on campus, at the corner of 25th and Ridge near the flag pole. The Class of 1955 raised the funds for the new shrine and the redecoration of the statue, under the guiding hand of Sister Vincentia.”

St. Teresa’s Academy closed in 1974, merging with Assumption High School (which closed in 1989).

Academy of Notre Dame, Belleville, IL (late 1920s, not extant)

In 1925, Immaculate Conception Academy in Belleville moved from downtown to 6401 West Main Street in Belleville, and was renamed Notre Dame Academy. Another Lourdes grotto was built at the new school in the late 1920s, and certainly before 1931, when it was mentioned in a news article:

NOTRE DAME ACADEMY The month of May was inaugurated with the beautiful May procession customary at the academy. The chaplain, Rev. John Fallon, made a stirring appeal to the sodalists to increase their devotion to our Blessed Lady. All the students in white veils and uniforms, marched to the grotto chanting the Litany of Loreto and singing hymns. There they made the act of consecration to Our Lady, and then filed back to the chapel, where Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament marked the close of the devotion.

The Messenger, May 8, 1931

The Academy closed in 1972, according to this online history.

St. Augustine Church, Hecker, IL (1930, not extant)

A 1930 newspaper article mentioned that:

Two Grottoes. St. Augustine’s Church is connected with the convent through a massive rock wall, hand-made, so fashioned that it forms a grotto. Statues will reach here from Europe shortly before the Christmas holidays and will rest in the arches prearranged for their installation. One of the the grottoes will be “Our Lady Lourdes” and other “Bernadette.” The rock, and ornamental stones forming these grottoes were secured from the Harbaugh farm, nearby. So solid is this formation that it will stand for years to come. Not only has Father Grootens in his short period time–not quite two years–completed all of the above-mentioned work, but in addition he has seen to it that the House of God has been properly beautified and redecorated.

The Belleville News-Democrat, Aug 20, 1930

From Google Street, it does not appear that the grotto exists any more. No photos of the grotto in Hecker could be discovered online.

Glen Addie Orphanage, Belleville (1931, not extant)

In 1901, the Diocese of Belleville purchased the Glen Addie mansion (1863) of Co. J.L. Morrison, and established the St. John Orphanage there, on what is now Lebanon Ave, across from St. John Drive. In 1931, a Lourdes grotto and lily pond were built at Glen Addie by the older boys at the orphanage, according to a 1932 news article:

THROUGHOUT the late spring, summer, and early autumn months Glen Addie on the Shiloh road is nightly the scene of impressive religious services. Before the grotto near the main hall of St. John Orphanage situated at Glen Addie the 170 children who live there gather at dusk in wide semicircle. With heads reverently bowed, the children say their evening prayers. Particularly impressive is this ceremony when the moon overhead sheds its silvery light upon the orphans. There they kneel on the swarth in the semi-darkness with the moonlight emblazoning the white stone grotto against the deep shadows under the trees.

Father Tuger Furnishes Plan. The grotto carries with it a history which makes it all the more dear to the children of Glen Addie and to their chaplain, the Rev. Father Albert Zuroweste who was formerly assistant pastor of St. Joseph Church in East St. Louis. It was built entirely by the older boys at the orphanage with blocks of limestone quarried by the boys and transported by them to the building site. The project was completed in June, 1931, four months after the death of chaplain the of Rev. the Father Orphanage Louis Tuger, under whose direction building of the grotto was started. The Father who had taken such an interest in this building work and who had secured the plan for it passed away before the undertaking was crowned with success.

Use Little Mortar. Several years ago when the boys went their to desire Father to Tuger construct and a expiato: the chaplain was enthusiastically in gave his wholehearted consent. He arranged that the lads, during their spare time, be taken to the limestone country in the vicinity of Columbia, Ill., in the Orphanage truck, and obtained permission for the boys to gather the rock and transport it back home. Persistently a group of twenty labored through the summer of 1930. They quarried the rock in an abandoned quarry, loaded it, transported it and unloaded it, and began the building, stone by stone, under Father Tuger’s direction.

Caretaker Ray Wakefield aided materially in the realization of the boys’ dream by his willingness to cooperate in every way he knew from the hauling of the material to the actual masonry work. No mortar whatsoever is used in the cairn except in the arch above the statue of the Virgin. The whole structure is eighteen feet tall and thirty-eight feet wide. Before the grotto is a statue of St. Mary Bernadette to whom the apparition of the Virgin appeared at Lourdes.

…When the rock for the grotto was transported to Glen Addie in 1930, the late Father Louis Tuger… was instrumental in having a lily pool and rock garden built….

The Belleville News-Democrat, Aug 11, 1932

The orphanage closed in the early 1980s, although the Belleville Diocese stills owns the land, on which are currently located some Diocesan offices, archives, and a home for retired priests. The grotto does not seem to exist today.

St. Mary’s Parish, Belleville, IL (1946, extant)

St. Mary’s Parish was established in Belleville in 1894, and in 1946 a lovely grotto was dedicated:

To Dedicate Grotto May 5 BELLEVILLE Dedication and coronation of Our Blessed Mother’s statue in the newly-erected grotto at St. Mary’s parish grounds here Sunday will mark the observance of Mary’s Month by the Junior Ladies’ Sodality. Erection of the grotto and statute of the Blessed Virgin and Bernadette was sponsored by the Sodality in culmination of fifty years of service in the parish; this is the sodality’s golden jubilee year. Rev. Jos. Orlet, pastor, in announcing the program for Sunday afternoon, stated that the 2 p. m. procession of sodalists and school children will open the service. The shrine will be, dedicated and the five foot statue unveiled; our Blessed Mother will be crowned with a floral wreath by the sodalists and the consecration will follow. The address for the occasion will be given by Rev. Leonard Bauer, S. T. D., chancellor of the diocese. Rev. Jos. Orlet, pastor, will officiate at the ceremonies on the parish grounds. After the recessional to the church, Benediction will close the service.

The Messenger (Belleville), May 3, 1946

St. Boniface Church, Germantown, IL (1952, extant)

St. Boniface Church was established in 1856 in Germantown, Illinois. In 1952, the men of the parish built a Lourdes Grotto that still stands on the north side of the church:

An outdoor shrine in honor of the Immaculate Conception, is being constructed in the church yard of St. Boniface Church in Germantown. The shrine is a reproduction of the shrine in Lourdes, France. The plans for were first proposed at a meeting of St. Henry’s Men Sodality, last fall, by the pastor, Rev. Father Boomkens. The men received the plans very enthusiastically and accepted the commission to build this grotto. Work was started on the project, but was interrupted by inclement weather, and only recently have they been working steady at the completion of it. The work of erecting this, grotto is being done by local men of St. Boniface parish with rock material being donated by the St. Rose Quarry. Jerome Lager of Breese donated the marble for the altar top, and the statue of the Immaculate Conception, which is 5 ft. tall, and of St. Bernadette, 2½ ft. tall being donated by an anonymous donor.

Rev. Pastor Boomkens, reports that many donations of time, work and financial aid has been given is supporting this undertaking, for which he is indeed grateful. Dedication ceremonies will take place, Ascension Thursday, May 22. The Most Rev. Albert R. Zuroweste, bishop of Belleville diocese, will perform the dedication ceremonies at 10:30 that morning. After the ceremonies a Pontifical low mass will be said at the grotto.

The Breese Journal, May 15, 1952

Another article in the Diocesan newspaper the following day announced the blessing by the now Bishop Albert Zuroweste (pictured 20 years previously in the newspaper photo of the grotto at Glen Addie):

Bishop to Bless Shrine At Germantown May 22 GERMANTOWN An elaborate grotto and shrine simulating the rugged original Loudes of France will be solemnly dedicated and opened on Ascension Thursday, May 22, by His Excellency, the Most Rev. Albert R. Zuroweste, D. D., the pastor of St. Boniface, Rev.

John Boomkens, announced this week. The Shrine of Our Lady Lourdes, which has been erected on the parish grounds, is dedicated especially to the protection of the youth of the parish. Built to portray the original shrine, the heavy stone work surrounds tiny chapel in which His Excellency will celebrate a Pontifical | low Mass Thursday morning. The ceremonies are set for 10:20 o’clock and all are welcome to attend. Fr. Boomkens and Ft. Fellner will assist His Excellency who also will preach a sermon at this time.

The shrine was constructed by St. Henry’s men’s society of the pariah of materials donated by various friends…. Erection of the shrine is an outgrowth of devotion to Our Lady, which has been stimulated by the Saturday evening novena to Our Lady of Fatima. This special service was inaugurated in the spring of 1949.

The Messenger (Belleville), May 16, 1952

A 1956 article mentioned:

In 1952, through the joint efforts of the pastor and the St. Henry’s Men’s Sodality, the beautiful grotto to Our Lady of Lourdes was built. The grotto, the largest and most beautiful of its kind in this area, was built to the north of the rectory. It is far enough removed from the main street to have captured the peace and quiet of a grotto, yet close enough that its beauty and inspiration can be enjoyed and appreciated by passers. The grotto was dedicated for the protection of the youth of the parish.

The Breese Journal, Oct 25, 1956

The Lourdes Grotto in Germantown continues to be the site of devotional events and prayer services.

St. Elizabeth’s Parish, East St. Louis, IL (1959, Extant)

St. Elizabeth Church was built in 1894, the same year and only one block west of St. Teresa’s Academy (see above), at 2417 Ridge Ave in East St. Louis, Illinois.

In 1959, a Lourdes grotto was constructed in memory of the founder of the parish’s founding paster, Msgr. Peter Engel. An article in the Diocesan newspaper announced its dedication:

A Lourdes grotto in honor of its former pastor, Rt. Rev. Msgr. Peter Engel, will be dedicated by St. Elizabeth parish on Sunday morning, Oct. 25, Rev. Arthur Goldammer, pastor, announces. The program on the parish grounds, 25th and Ridge, will follow the 10:15 a.m. parish Mass. The late Msgr. Engel was pastor of St. Elizabeth’s for a 43 year span, from 1908 until the time of his death in 1951.

The grotto, formed of native limestone block, follows the true Lourdes grotto design. Featured is a four foot high statue of Our Lady the Immaculate Conception and a two foot high statue of Bernadette. The grotto will be lighted at night. The stone and other materials, the statues and the labor all were donated.

The Messenger (Belleville), Oct 23, 1959

St. Elizabeth Parish closed in 1964, and a Baptist church used the church building until 2017, when it was the victim of arson and was torn down.

The grotto somewhat miraculously still stands in front of the large brick rectory building next door–with what looks like the original statue of Our Lady of Lourdes still in it. It’s possible that building continued to be the property of a Catholic group or person.

Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville, IL (1961, extant)

There is so much material about the construction of the Lourdes Grotto at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows that I have made a separate post about it here.

And it’s possible that a grotto existed at St. Clara Hospital in Lincoln, Illinois, based on the recollections of a nurse who worked there during the 1940s and 1950s, in a 1999 publication about Logan County history. But I could not find anything about it online and the hospital is now closed.